How to Customize Your Research Study: Branding, Landing Pages, and Intake Forms

First impressions drive participation rates. When a customer or employee receives an interview link, the landing page they see determines whether they start the interview or close the tab. A professional, branded, clearly explained landing page consistently outperforms generic research links — in many studies, the difference in completion rates is 2–3x.

Koji's customization system gives you control over every element of the participant experience: the landing page headline, background style, accent color, intake form, badge messaging, privacy copy, voice and language settings, and link previews. This guide walks through every option available in the Customize tab.

Accessing the Customize Tab

Every Koji study has a Customize tab alongside the Results, Insights, and Reports tabs. All the settings in this guide live there.

Changes in the Customize tab take effect immediately — there is no separate save-and-publish step. You can update your landing page mid-study without interrupting ongoing interviews. Participants who start after the change see the updated version; participants already in an active session are unaffected.

Landing Page Copy

Headline

The headline is the most important piece of copy on your landing page. It needs to:

• Explain clearly what the interview is about
• Set an expectation for how long it will take
• Give participants a reason to care

Examples of effective headlines:

• "Help us improve our onboarding experience — takes about 10 minutes"
• "Share your experience as an enterprise customer — your feedback shapes our roadmap"
• "Tell us about your hiring process — 8 minutes, anonymous"

Examples of headlines to avoid:

• "Research Study 2025" (vague, no reason to participate)
• "User Interview — Feedback Collection" (corporate, uninviting)

Subheadline

The subheadline gives you one additional line for context — who is conducting the research, why it matters, or what participants get in return. Keep it short and human.

Description

A short paragraph (1–3 sentences) below the headline. Use this for:

• Explaining anonymity or confidentiality
• Describing what you will do with the information
• Setting up what kind of questions they will be asked

CTA Button Text

The button participants click to start the interview defaults to "Start Interview." Customize it to match your voice and create urgency:

• "Share My Experience"
• "Start the Conversation"
• "I'm Ready"
• "Begin"

Research on conversion optimization consistently shows that action-oriented, first-person CTA text ("I'm Ready") outperforms passive text ("Click Here" or "Start Now") for participation rates in research contexts.

Visual Design

Accent Color

Set a hex color that matches your brand. The accent color is applied to:

• The animated orb on the landing page and during voice interviews
• CTA button highlights and focus states
• Progress and status indicators throughout the interview

This single change makes your interview feel like a branded product experience rather than a generic third-party research tool.

Animated Background Orb

The landing page features a flowing animated gradient background — the "orb" — that gives Koji interviews their distinctive visual character. You can choose from six preset themes:

• Aurora — greens and purples with a Northern Lights feel
• Sunset — warm oranges and pinks
• Ocean — deep blues and teals
• Lavender — purples and soft lilacs
• Mint — fresh greens and whites
• Peach — warm peach and cream tones

The orb also appears during voice interviews, where it pulses and animates in real time in response to the AI speaking and the participant's voice activity. Choosing a theme that complements your brand's color palette creates a cohesive visual experience.

Trust Badges

Badges appear below the CTA button on your landing page. They serve as trust signals that address common participant hesitations before those hesitations become reasons to close the tab.

Duration Badge

Shows the estimated interview length with a clock icon. This is the single highest-impact trust element on the landing page — participants who know the interview takes 10 minutes are far more likely to start than those who have no idea what they are committing to.

Set the text to accurately match your study: "About 10 minutes", "~8 minutes", "15 minutes max".

Anonymity Badge

A lock icon with a short privacy statement. Common texts:

• "Your responses are anonymous"
• "Confidential and secure"
• "Your name will never be shared"
• "Used only for internal product decisions"

This is especially important for sensitive research topics: HR research, health research, candid feedback about management, or anything involving personal financial information.

Custom Badges (up to 4)

Create additional badges for any trust or motivation signal that matters to your participants:

• Incentive badge — "Complete for a $25 Amazon gift card" (star or heart icon)
• Purpose badge — "Responses directly shape product decisions" (check icon)
• Usage badge — "Used only for internal research, never shared externally" (shield icon)
• Acknowledgment badge — "We read every single response" (heart icon)

Custom badges support six icon types: shield, clock, star, check, lock, and heart. Each badge has a label line and an optional sub-label.

Intake Form (Lead Collection)

The intake form appears before the interview begins. It collects participant information and optionally screens participants to ensure they match your target profile.

When to Use an Intake Form

Use it when:

• You need email addresses for incentive distribution
• You want to screen for specific roles, behaviors, or demographics
• You are running a study where you need to know who said what for follow-up
• You are logging participants' company, plan, or cohort for segmentation analysis

Consider skipping it when:

• You are using personalized links and participant data is already known
• Reducing friction is the top priority (e.g., high-intent participants in a short time window)
• The research context makes asking for information feel intrusive or surveillance-like

Configuring the Form

Enable the intake form in the Lead Collection Form section and configure up to 6 fields:

Field Types:

• Text — name, company, job title, or any free-text field
• Email — validated email address field (essential for incentive distribution)
• Phone — phone number field with basic format validation
• Select — dropdown with predefined options (excellent for screening)
• Textarea — multi-line free text for longer responses
• Checkbox — single checkbox for consent acknowledgment or boolean preferences

Field Settings for Each Field:

• Label text (shown above the field)
• Placeholder text (shown inside the empty field)
• Help text (shown below the field for additional context)
• Required vs. optional
• Predefined options list (for Select fields)

Form Header: Set a title for the form ("A few quick questions before we start") and a description ("This helps us make the conversation more relevant to your experience").

Submit Button: Customize the text on the proceed button: "Continue", "Let's Start", "Begin the Conversation", "I'm Ready".

Using Select Fields for Screening

A powerful pattern: add a required Select field as your screening question. Participants who pick a qualifying answer proceed to the interview; others can be shown a graceful "thank you, but you don't match our criteria" message.

Example for B2B product research:

• Question: "What is your primary job function?"
• Options: "Product Management", "Engineering", "Design", "Marketing", "Sales", "Other"
• Required: Yes

All intake form responses appear as columns in the Recruit tab, making it easy to filter and segment your participant list after the study is complete.

Interaction Mode Settings

Voice vs. Text vs. Both

Configure which interview modes are available to participants:

• Voice only — participants must use voice mode; microphone is required
• Text only — participants use the text chat interface only
• Both available — participants see both options and choose; you set which is shown by default

For most studies, enabling both modes with voice as the default produces the best combination of data richness and completion rate. Participants who cannot or will not use a microphone are not blocked — they switch to text and still complete the interview.

Default Language

Set the interview language for your study. The AI speaks, transcribes, and analyzes in this language. This affects the interview UI, all participant-facing instructions, and the AI's voice and prompts. See Multi-Language Research Guide for a full guide to running multilingual studies.

Footer and Legal Copy

Footer Text

Add a line of explanatory text at the bottom of the landing page — typically used for:

• Identifying who is conducting the research ("This research is conducted by [Company]")
• Explaining data use briefly
• Linking to a full privacy policy

Consent and Privacy Text

Appears below the CTA button or intake form submit button. Use this for GDPR consent language or other legal requirements:

• "By starting this interview, you agree to our Privacy Policy and consent to recording"
• "Your data will be processed in accordance with GDPR Article 6(1)(a)"

Removing the Koji Badge

On paid plans, you can remove the "Powered by Koji" badge from your landing page for a fully white-labeled experience. Toggle Show Koji Badge off in the footer settings. Combined with a custom domain and branded copy, this creates an interview experience participants perceive as entirely native to your organization.

Custom Interview Slug

Your study's URL defaults to a randomly generated string. Customize it to something memorable:

• koji.so/i/post-onboarding-feedback
• koji.so/i/enterprise-discovery-q1-2025
• koji.so/i/employee-pulse-q2

Custom slugs are configured in the Collect tab under Interview Link Settings. They must be globally unique across Koji. A recognizable slug improves click-through rates in email campaigns and looks more professional when sharing with customers and partners.

Open Graph and Link Previews

When participants share your interview link or you include it in email campaigns, a link preview card appears. Configure what that preview shows:

• OG Title — the headline shown in the preview card (defaults to your study title)
• OG Description — the subtext shown below the title
• OG Image URL — a custom thumbnail (your company logo, a branded graphic, or a relevant product image)

A well-designed link preview card significantly increases click-through rates in email campaigns. Using a recognizable company logo or branded image builds trust before the participant even sees the landing page.

White-Labeling Your Interview Experience

For organizations that need a fully branded research experience, combine these settings:

1. Set a custom accent color matching your brand palette
2. Choose an orb theme that complements your visual identity
3. Write all landing page copy in your brand's voice and tone
4. Disable the "Powered by Koji" badge (paid plans)
5. Set a custom interview slug with your brand or study name
6. Configure custom OG tags for consistent link previews

The result is an interview experience that feels entirely native to your brand — participants see your name, your colors, and your messaging throughout, with no indication that a third-party platform is powering the research.

Previewing Your Changes

At any time, click Preview in the Customize tab to see exactly what participants will see. This opens your landing page in preview mode with a small banner indicating it is a preview.

Use the preview to:

• Verify your copy reads naturally and is free of errors
• Confirm the badge layout looks right
• Test the intake form flow from start to interview
• Check that branding colors and orb theme look as intended
• Spot any copy that might cause participant hesitation

Run the full preview in an incognito window after configuring everything to see it exactly as a first-time participant would.

Customization Launch Checklist

Before making your study live, verify:

• Headline clearly explains the interview topic and expected duration
• Duration badge is enabled with an accurate time estimate
• Accent color matches your brand
• Intake form configured with appropriate required fields (if using)
• Anonymity badge enabled for research on sensitive topics
• CTA button text is action-oriented and matches your brand voice
• Footer and privacy copy is accurate for your compliance requirements
• "Powered by Koji" badge removed if you need a white-labeled experience
• Custom interview slug configured (if needed)
• OG tags configured for clean email and social sharing previews
• Preview confirmed in a fresh incognito window

With platforms like Koji, creating a professional, high-converting research landing page takes about 15 minutes. The investment pays back immediately in higher participation rates, better-quality responses, and a participant experience that reflects well on your organization.